As I suspected, the report that Darren Tilley could be a candidate to coach USL expansion team FC New York wasn’t very solid. Here’s the word I received from New York president, Doug Petersen: “I have never spoken to Darren about our open position and don’t plan to. This is not because he is not qualified because he certainly is, but we have a handful of candidates and will select from those.”

Petersen also said his club doesn’t need to ”leverage anything in regards to selecting a coach. We have been honest to all our candidates and they have been equally fair in not speaking about our conversations.”

MENYONGAR FINALLY 1ST TEAM: Rhinos forward Johnny Menyongar, who missed the playoff series with Puerto Rico because of a torn ACL in the penultimate regular-season match, has been named to the USL First Division first team, which was announced today. After being a second-teamer five times, “JM10″ is a first-teamer finally. His 11 goals led Rochester and were second in the USL behind only Charles Gbeke. Here’s a link to the full write-up and full team.

WILL ARRIETA PLAY? Puerto Rico got whacked, 2-0, in Mexico City on Tuesday night by Cruz Azul, ending their participation in the CONCACAF Champions League. Obvioulsy all of their eggs are now in the USL title run basket. There is some controversy brewing regarding Cristian Arrieta and whether he should be eligible for the semifinal series with No. 5 Montreal after Arrieta’s Game 1 red card against the Rhinos for head-butting John Ball. Similar conduct during the regular season earned a three-game suspension.

According to a report at www.BigApplesoccer.com, former Rhinos coach Darren Tilley is one of three finalists to be the new head coach of FC New York, a USL First Division expansion club that starts play next year. Citing “USL sources,” Michael Lewis writes that Tilley, former Long Island Rough Riders coach Dan Fisher and ex-Riders midfielder and MLS player, Jim Rooney, are the finalists.

Ordinarily, I’d dismiss this as an unfounded Internet report. But, I know Lewis. He used to write for the D&C and is as credible as it gets. That being said, it doesn’t mean his sources aren’t loosely leading him to write what they want out there. Why the skepticism? Less than 48 hours ago Tilley was on the field in Puerto Rico as Rhinos coach and now suddenly he’s a finalist for another job? Not just a candidate – a finalist. My guess: This is simply a leverage ploy by FC New York, which will hire Rooney or Fisher, who each have deeper ties to the New York City area.

Here’s a link to today’s story on the Rhinos’ decision to not renew the contract of head coach Darren Tilley and GM Matt Ford, who will stay on and assist owner Rob Clark as the organization moves forward. It sounds like Clark will not be making too many player moves until he gets the next coach in place. Smart move. You don’t want to saddle a new leader with players he doesn’t want. That was the largely the hand Tilley was dealt in 2008, but he had little choice given the timing in his mid-March hiring after the ownership change.

I did speak briefly with Tilley last night and he said he would like to talk soon and hand out thanks to some people publicly before leaving the spotlight again in Rochester. I will share my thoughts on all this after I’ve spoke with Darren.

As for my list of possible successors, it’s all simply speculation now because Clark isn’t showing his hand. My man, Rhinos fan Drew Brown, wonders why Dave Sarachan wasn’t on the list … Well, the former Chicago Fire and Cornell head coach and former DC United and US men’s national team assistant is once again Bruce Arena’s top assistant with the LA Galaxy. No way the Brighton native, whose mother still lives here in the house Sarachan grew up in, is leaving LA and MLS to come home. Sorry.

There will be plenty of weeks of speculation on this. I also wouldn’t rule out any men who might still be coaching a team, whether it be MLS or USL, and that means the Rhinos would have to wait until that coach’s current season is complete to interview him. But … if I were Rob Clark my first call would be to Ercoli and then Bliss and I’d also sit down with Billy Andracki and see what he thinks. Here’s the list:

ANDRACKI: Former Rhinos goalie was Tilley’s assistant. Could “Billy Ball” work? Is he ready and does he want to be THE leader? No former player in team history has shown more loyalty to this club based on the ups and downs he experienced as a player. And, I think four-time Rhinos MVP Craig Demmin, who lives here, would be a perfect assistant.

BLISS: Webster native and former Olympian and World Cup player is technical director for the Columbus Crew (MLS) and has shown interest in coaching again. He has been a head coach in the USL with Connecticut and a top assistant with the K.C. Wizards and briefly their interim coach. He has contacts throughout the country and knows how to run a club, from his youth experience in Kansas City, from the top on down.

ERCOLI: With every season that passes without another title, his legacy as the only man to guide the Rhinos to a championship grows larger. Would the 51-year-old be willing to risk tainting that by going after ring No. 5? Don’t know. But I do know the guy is a competitor, loves a challenge and knows how to run a club, from signing players to working the sideline. From a public-relations standpoint, he IS the right choice if the Rhinos want to make their “the buzz is back” slogan reality instead of laughable.

DOUG MILLER: He has built a successful post-playing career as youth club director at www.DougMillerSoccer.com and they just renamed the sports dome in Greece after him because it’s the new home for his club. But here’s the deal with Doug. At 40 and from our conversations, I know the Rhinos’ all-time leading scorer still thinks he can score goals. So coaching … not yet. I truly think, in this league, an in-shape Miller, at 40, coming off the bench for 15 minutes at the end of matches could score goals. The way some Rhinos forwards shot blanks this year, he couldn’t do any worse.

SCOTT SCHWEITZER: What an interesting chemistry experiment this would be, huh? The fiery former Rhinos defender and the fiery second-year Rhinos owner, Mr. Clark, working together. I don’t know how much the Rhinos would win, but it sure would be entertaining. Schweitzer, 38, cut his teeth as a coach in 2007-08 with Carolina (USL), but was let go after the RailHawks failed to make the playoffs in his second season. It was part of Carolina’s housecleaning. Schweitzer is a leader and knows talent. If he learned from some of his mistakes in Carolina, where his club played undisciplined, I think he’ll be more successful at his next job.

There’s one guy I’m going to add to the list and I think he’s only a longshot because Clark doesn’t know enough about him, but I think he deserves an interview. And that’s Bob Lilley. He won in Hershey, won in Montreal and then won big in Vancouver, where he led the Whitecaps to the 2006 USL title. He’s NOT coaching outdoor pro soccer right now, is rock-solid organizationally and I know the Carlisle, Pa., native always has loved this market, even though the Rhinos used to get the best of most of his teams. Lilley has a bad rap for coaching defensive soccer, but … ask Eddy Sebrango when he had his best years … under Lilley in Hershey, Montreal and Vancouver. And go look at what the Whitecaps did in their 2006 playoff run. They outscored opponents 11-3 in the playoffs. That 3-0 win at then-PAETEC Park in the 2006 title match sure didn’t look defensive. To address one last name … SteveGuppy. He isn’t coming back being an MLS assistant. Trust me.

MONDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Speaking from the Atlanta airport where he and his now former players
were traveling back from Puerto Rico, Darren Tilley declined comment tonight on his
ouster as coach of the Rhinos. He said he’d prefer to wait until the “dust settles.”

MORE DETAILS, including comments from owner Rob Clark,in Tuesday’s editions of the D&C

* * * * * *

In a major shakeup only 16 hours after their team was eliminated from the playoffs, the Rhinos released a statement today that Darren Tilley will not return for a third season as coach and fourth-year general manager Matt Ford also won’t remain in that role.

“We would like to thank coach Tilley for his commitment to the organization over the past two years,” team owner Rob Clark said in a statement. “Darren will always be regarded as one of the best players in Rhinos history.”

Rochester took a 2-1 lead into its decisive Game 2 at No. 3 Puerto Rico on Sunday night, but was beaten, 4-1, to lose the quarterfinal series, 5-3, on aggregate goals. The Rhinos (12-10-10) suffered a similar fate last year when they couldn’t make a lead hold up at Puerto Rico in the semifinals, losing in overtime.

Tilley, who replaced Laurie Calloway in March of 2008 shortly after Clark took over has the Rhinos’ new owner, went 25-21-16 in two seasons. This was the first professional coaching job for the former Rhinos forward, an England native who was a member of the franchise’s A-League and U.S. Open Cup title teams in 1998 and ’99.

The news release also said that Ford, who took over in 2006 under the Rhinos’ former ownership group but was retained by Clark, will not have his contract renewed for the 2010 season but will stay on “to assist the club in this time of transition.”

Veteran goalkeeper Scott Vallow said Ford informed players of the news before they boarded a flight in Puerto Rico today.

“I feel terrible for Darren and Matt. As players, you can’t help but feel a sense of responsibility,” said Vallow, the only player on Rochester’s roster that was on any of its championship teams from 1998-2001. “They put their trust in the players to get a job done and we, collectively as a group, didn’t get a job done. It’s a terrible situation.”

John Ball, the veteran defender who, like Vallow, was a former teammate with Tilley, called today an “awkward situation.”

“It happened real quick. We’re not even out of Puerto Rico,” the 13th-year pro said. “It’s an awkward situation being around Matt and Darren right now. Basically, we’re shocked and stunned. You don’t know what to say to them.”

Ball, 36, said while the timing of the news may be surprising, he thought this fate was possible for Tilley.

“During the whole season you kind of saw it coming. I thought a playoff run would help. Obviously, it didn’t,” Ball said. “We let down coach with how we performed this year, but it’s a business and Rob can do what he wants. It’s his team.”

Vallow, Ball and defender Kenney Bertz each declined to comment when asked if they thought if changes needed to be made.

“I’ve been involved with this before … it’s part of the business of sports unfortunately,” said Bertz, who came to Rochester under Calloway but returned late last season after a stint in Germany. “The professional game is kind of cruel in some ways. If this is the decision ownership has made, you just try look ahead and go from here.”

USL regular-season champion, Portland, and runner-up Carolina each found success this year after a major off-season overhaul of their rosters. Will the Rhinos follow the same path? Stay tuned.

“We’re all just kind of shocked right now. I don’t think we’re thinking that far ahead,” Vallow said.

While the players could be reached, Tilley’s cell phone does not receive service in Puerto Rico. Reacting via text message, Ford wrote: “I have not seen the release/advisory, so I cannot react yet.” He added that he has a meeting with Clark on Tuesday.

For the second straight year, the Rhinos couldn’t make a lead hold up in the second leg of their two-game, aggregate-goal playoff series with Puerto Rico. No. 6 seed Rochester took a 2-1 lead to Bayamon, but lost 4-1 tonight to lose their USL First Division quarterfinal series, 5-3, on aggregate. The Rhinos’ season ends with a record of 12-10-10.

At least last year, when they lost in OT, they went down swinging. This was limping to the finish, or crawling. Coach Darren Tilley could not be reached for comment (his cell does not work in Bayamon). His Rhinos ended the season with a record of 12-10-10. Tilley has a two-year mark of 25-21-16.

Although Rochester reached the playoffs for a USL-record 14th consecutive season, its regular-season finish (sixth) was the lowest in team history. This season was also only the fifth in which the Rhinos failed to win a playoff series. The others: 1997, 2004 (former coach Pat Ercoli’s last), 2005 and ’07. The ’05 loss was after receiving a first-round bye to the semis.

Rochester came out sluggish Sunday and never seemed to recover. Although Puerto Rico was playing its fourth match in eight days, the Islanders (16-8-8) seemed to have more pep. They played a man up the final 60 minutes and held a 17-4 lead in shots. Next up they’ll face No. 5 seed Montreal, which ousted No. 4 Charleston (4-1 aggregate). The other semifinal series features No. 1 Portland vs. No. 7 Vancouver, which upset No. 2 Carolina (1-0 aggregate).

Puerto Rico (16-8-8) tied the series on Fabrice Noel’s goal in the 12th minute. Last year, the Islanders drew first blood in the 11th, then tied the series at 2 in the 35th. On Sunday, Rochester was dealt another setback in the 29th minute, as defender Brent Sancho picked up his second yellow card, meaning a red-card ejection, and forcing Rochester to play the rest of the match a man short. It was a zombie-like response, most of the way, after that red card. With the red card to Puerto Rico’s top-scorer, Cristian Arrieta, still lingering from Game 1, you knew evening the score was a possibility and Sancho gave the officials that ability. Scary to think that these Islanders looked that dangerous and hung four goals on the Rhinos and Arrieta didn’t even play, huh?

Puerto Rico’s Petter Villegas hit the right post with a shot in the 35th minute but forward Nicholas Addlery put the Islanders ahead, 3-2, on aggregate by converting on a leaping header on the far post off a cross by Jonny Steele in the 40th minute. Steele, the ex-Rhino, was credited with all four assists in the match. Goalkeeper Scott Vallow (three saves) made a diving deflection in the 67th minute on Addlery’s 20-yard shot, keeping the Rhinos behind by just a goal in the series. But Noel dribbled past two lunging defenders and scored again in the 80th minute to make the series, 4-2. Rochester pulled back to within a goal again in the 83rd minute, as Kenney Bertz convered on Andrew Gregor’s corner kick. But the Islanders sealed the series on Addlery’s easy putaway in front off a counter attack in the 90th. That’s 11 goals for Addlery now this season. What an off-season pickup he was from defending champion, Vancouver. (And, was it a one-year deal?)

The Islanders have the USL’s best home record (12-1-3) in the regular season, but where was the Rhinos’ team that out-played Puerto Rico in Bayamon for a half on Sept. 6? Where was Ze Roberto tonight? Why didn’t Andrew Gregor start? Hopefully I’ll get to talk to Tilley when he returns.

I actually think, YES, they can. In today’s story I break down some reasons, which I’ll also detail below. But first …

“It forces us to go down there and play,” Rhinos goalie Scott Vallow told me about tonight’s Game 2 9 (6 pm on WHTK-AM/FM and www.USLlive.com) after it was Rochester 2, Puerto Rico 1 on Thursday night. “Maybe with a 2-0 advantage you go down there too complacent. Plus, if it was 2-0 we’d hear all the déjà vu (talk about last year).”

There will still be the talk. But here’s why I think there are factors in favor of the Rhinos, who expect to have defender Steve Kindel back with them tonight in Bayamon:

Fatigue factor: While Puerto Rico might be the USL’s deepest squad, it will be playing for the fourth time in eight days. At some point, it would seem that’ll catch up with the Islanders, who also are in the CONCACAF Champions League.

No Arrieta: They’ll also have to play without their top-scorer, Cristian Arrieta. He’s suspended as a result of Friday’s seventh-minute red card against John Ball for what the Rhinos veteran described as a head butt in the penalty area.

Arrieta (10 goals), the 2008 USL Defender of the Year, is a go-to player on restarts from 2008 league MVP Jonny Steele. Puerto Rico definitely has the type of swagger Rhinos championship teams did from 1998-2001, but reigning USL Goalkeeper of the Year, Bill Gaudette, is also battling a hip-flexor injury.

Road warriors: At 8-5-2, Rochester had the best road record in the USL this year. Its biggest win of the season was at Portland, 2-1, on Sept. 3 when it stopped the top-seeded Timbers’ 24-match unbeaten streak. Tilley and his players admit they play better, particularly on defense, on the road.

They’d also be wise to employ some of the histrionics that the Islanders did in Game 1 while trying to chew time off the clock.

“We won the first half,” Sancho said of Game 1, “there’s a second half to go. Whoever they put in there will do a job for them. But whatever happened before, during the (regular) season, the playoffs are a completely different game.”

TO HEAR A REPLAY OF YESTERDAY’S KICK THIS! RADIO SHOW, FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH RHINOS DEFENDERS KENNEY BERTZ AND JOHN BALL, ALONG WITH PUERTO RICO COACH COLIN CLARKE, GO TO WWW.KICKTHIS.COM

For the second year in a row, the Rhinos will take a lead to Puerto Rico in the playoffs.
Playing a man up for most of the match at Marina Auto Stadium, Rochester scored twice in the second half in tonight’s USL First Division opener and takes a 2-1 advantage into Sunday’s decisive Game 2 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Kick-off is 6 p.m.

The third-seeded Islanders played No. 6 Rochester to a scoreless tie in Puerto Rico on April 24 and beat the Rhinos, 2-0, there on Sept. 6. Last year, Rochester (12-9-10) took a 2-0 lead in the two-game, aggregate-goal series to Puerto Rico but lost in overtime, 3-2.

“The job’s half done. We feel good that we got this done but everyone knows how things ended up last year,” Rhinos defender Kenney Bertz said. “We got caught a little bit surprised in the first half and it was equalized quickly.”

The Rhinos gained a man advantage tonight just seven minutes in Puerto Rico’s Cristian Arrieta was given a red card (ejection) for an apparent head butt that decked John Ball. Some said it was an elbow. Ball told me “head butt” in front of goal on a corner kick. Dumb reaction by Arrieta after a savvy play by Ball. He said Arrieta put his hand on Ball’s chest. Ball reacted by pushing it down, then Arrieta head-butted the 13th-year pro, who has been known to get under an opponents skin now and again. (wink, wink).

Arrieta’s own goalie, Bill Gaudette, called it a “bad decision,” and teammate Jonny Steele indicated that a leader like Arrieta has to keep a cooler head.

As a result, Arrieta, the reigning USL Defender of the Year who also leads the Islanders with 10 goals, will miss Game 2 serving a one-match league suspension.

But Rochester failed for much of the first half to apply much pressure, recording just three shots on Gaudette, who came up limping and holding his quad after making a huge save in the 17th minute. Errol McFarlane nearly headed in Danny Earls’ cross, but Gaudette scrambled to make a diving save with one hand. But the all-league keeper came up holding his right thigh and limping.

The Rhinos went on the offensive to start the second half and the pressure paid off when Kenney Bertz ripped a 35-yard shot inside the left post and past a diving Gaudette for a 1-0 lead.

“Kenney has a great shot but I was screened on the ball. I have to do a better on moving my feet, but Kenney hit the hell out of the ball,” said Gaudette, who said he re-aggravated a hip injury suffered in Tuesday night’s CONCACAF Champions League game.

Ball, another defender who hadn’t scored in USL play, made it 2-0 in the 71st minute. Nano Short passed up a shot in front and fed Ball, who patiently spun on a defender and scored from about 12 yards inside the near post.

But the Islanders (15-8-8) grabbed what could be a HUGE goal back just a minute later when Nicholas Addlery beat a defender and goalie Scott Vallow on a high shot inside the near post from about 10 yards. Vallow said, in that spot, a goalie is vulnerable on a low shot to the far post and high shot at the post. “I thought I was in good position,” he said.

But Addlery hammered it from about 10 yards in a great spot, just under the crossbar.

As of this morning, the Rhinos were still without defender Steve Kindel, who is in Vancouver, awaiting the birth of his second child. The midseason pickup had started 11 straight matches, mostly at left back, until leaving last weekend to be with his wife. I have a message out to Kindel for an update. Coach Darren Tilley remained hopeful the veteran could be coming back tonight and be ready for Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. match against Puerto Rico in Game 1 of the USL quarterfinals.

Midfielder Chris Nurse and Warren Ukah also are doubtful with injuries, coach Darren Tilley said after today’s training session at Marina Auto Stadium.

Just saw a TV ad for this weekend’s Syracuse University football game that said kids 12-and-under get in free with each admission of a paid adult. Rhinos playoff tickets for Thursday’s opener against Puerto Rico are the same prices as regular season. And I’m wondering … Why?

And, if I’m hearing it correctly, all season-ticket holders must pay for this match? Again … why?

So, I expect a lame crowd on Thursday. Why haven’t the Rhinos done something bold, like the SU deal? This team was aggressive all season marketing, now … not so much? After two solid crowds of about 7,000 to close the regular season, I expect a few thousand on Thursday. It’s sad. Hope I’m wrong. The Rhinos are asking people on a school night in late September — yes, it’s a school night and that IS a factor — to come out and watch playoff soccer and a team that produced a grand total of THREE home wins … at regular prices.

If I were running the show, I’d say any Section V varsity team — boys or girls — that shows up Thursday with at least five teammates, $5 seats for each of them. Wear your jersey to prove you’re on the team. Season-ticket holders … come on in for free. After the “performances” your Rhinos gave you this season at Marina Auto Stadium, you deserve the break.

The Puerto Rico Islanders (15-7-8) won 3-1 in Miami tonight to clinch the No. 3 seed and that means next week’s USL First Division quarterfinal series will be a rematch of last year’s semifinals, when the Islanders rallied to beat the Rhinos in the second leg in Bayamon. Rochester (11-9-10) is the No. 6 seed this year.

Game 1 is Thursday at Marina Auto Stadium and I think will start at 7:05 p.m.; Game 2 is next Sunday in Puerto Rico. I’m not sure of the start time.

The Rhinos tied 0-0 in Puerto Rico early in the season (April 24) then tied 0-0 again on July 10 in Rochester before losing, 2-0, two weeks ago in Puerto Rico. The Islanders have a big CONCACAF Champions League match on Tuesday and are one match into a stretch that includes four games in eight days — that should benefit the Rhinos.

Last year, Rochester was the No. 4 seed and took a 2-0 lead after the first leg at home. But Puerto Rico won Game 2-0, forcing an extra period and won that by a goal to advance to the USL final, where it lost in Vancouver. OTHER PLAYOFF MATCHUPS:

Jeff DiVeronica has covered professional soccer and the Rhinos for the Democrat and Chronicle since the team's inception in 1996. "Devo's Direct Kicks" takes aim mostly at Rochester soccer, but will also highlight the USL, MLS and U.S. national team play. Devo, his nickname since college at St. John Fisher, also hosts two weekly radio shows each Saturday on WHTK-AM/FM (1280/107.3 or www.whtk.com). "Kick This!" (11 a.m.) features soccer talk, while the Canandaigua National Bank High School Sports Show (noon) covers Section V sports. E-mail Jeff at jdiveron@DemocratandChronicle.com.
Or follow him on Twitter: @RocDevo